[1] Rhythm guitarist and principal songwriter Ric Ocasek shares lead vocals with bassist Benjamin Orr on "You Are the Girl".

[3] Both singers had recently cracked the Top 40 with solo hits, Ocasek with 1986's "Emotion in Motion" and Orr with 1987's "Stay the Night".

"You Are the Girl" was the Cars' first—and last—Top 40 hit after their 1987 regrouping following the band members' three-year hiatus to focus on solo work.

The lyrics for the song are about an ex;[5] the music video, directed by cult filmmaker John Waters, has been described as "alien-populated".

[8] Following the release of the album, there was public speculation that the band was breaking up, and within a year the Cars announced that they had disbanded.